We were lucky to catch up with Daniel Brown recently and have shared our conversation below.
Daniel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you take vacations? Why or why not?
It’s been nearly 5 years since i’ve taken a real vacation but this June ’22, my wife & I were able to getaway for a week to San Fransisco.
Normally when we take a “break” it’s most likely a three day situation, which translates into about a day & a half of a “break”. But seven days is hard to find, especially because my wife & I are both business owners. My sister / co-owner was able to fill in, my wife booked the tickets & we didn’t think twice.
We had such a great time! A little rest, lots of exploring, we met with old friends, made new ones, toured the city & we ate well!
To be completely honest, though we made the best of our trip, seven days was only enough to ween ourselves off of the pressures that come with being business owners. So the plan moving forward is to intentionally carve out time (even when there is no time) to take frequent, shorter vacations for the wellbeing of myself, my marriage, my company. I’m really looking forward to that long vacation though & that time will come.
Daniel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a transplant from Brooklyn; Atlanta has been really good to me over the years & because of that I call Georgia home now.
I’m a visionary, an artist, currently learning how to be a successful business owner. Most of the time I’m dreaming big, planning for the future, taking that leap into the unknown. I have strong interest in the arts and the gospel, most of my work involves a combination of the two, ultimately leading towards a passion project of mine which is to develop a community. I enjoy learning/studying new urbanism. Conceptualizing & master planning micro-villages & towns designed for all to flourish is a dream of mine. A project of that magnitude though requires much and for me this journey has begun in the form of small business. Every day I get to serve people my products & through storytelling & creating experiences. My heart is always to best serve the neighbors in the communities my businesses are planted in. I believe that my businesses provide unique character and individuality & fosters the local community in multiple ways. Between my wife & I we’ve been blessed to have 4 business concepts/locations over the last 10 years & I’m grateful for the support.
I’m the Founder & co-owner of Gilly Brewing Company, an innovative beverage startup on a mission to help people re-imagine coffee culture. We serve coffee & tea drinks but our elixir program has been quite the disrupter. They are purpose inspired, beverages that we curate seasonally which requires intentionality, skill, creativity and much more. Our work & dedication has been well received & admired by many across the map. This year gilly was chosen by Food & Wine Magazine in a list of the top coffee shops in America. We made Number 1 in the state of Georgia & get this, we’re not even a coffee shop, how dope is that! I stumbled into the beverage industry with no prior knowledge, training or experience which comes with its pros & cons. But I didn’t set out to open a brew bar, my main goal was always to build community; Culinary arts is just one of many ways I meet that goal. My introduction to specialty coffee was back in 2012 at my wife’s first bakery concept where we served Octane Coffee on pour-over (One of Atlanta’s most ambitious specialty coffee companies at the time). A few years later we went on a search for land to build on, we ended up finding & purchasing an abandoned, historic house, where I opened my first brew bar concept.
Stn. Mtn. Village is a small town with the largest confederate monument problem in the world! It’s hard to look past & sadly the racial tensions has stunted the growth of the town. Discussions around the confederate monument are never ending & everyone keeps talking about how much potential Stn. Mtn. had. From my perspective no one was willing enough to take that risk but with vision & hope I made the decision to take on the project. The lack of community frustrated me so much, not only did I feel called to invest by starting a business but my wife & I also became homeowners. Building a community for now took on a new meaning, It meant using an old, vacant & unwanted house to restore the narrative of a broken system, city, people. It meant using that space so that neighbors from different sides of the tracks could one day meet, engage & interact over food & drink. It meant starting a business like gilly to disrupt the norms.
The journey has been rough & there is still so much work to be down in Stn. Mtn. but I’m seeing change. With a new mayor, new city council and more business owners & leaders moving into town, the future here looks good. My investment has certainly kickstarted something extraordinarily special. While expanding the brand to the Atlanta location (opening date not yet determined) I’m looking forward to seeing what comes of Stone Mountain, GA. I’d love to see more passionate, young entrepreneurs like myself move or bring their business to this community, it won’t be easy but I’d be more than happy to help by counseling & providing some resources that I wish I had to make the process much easier.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
The initial capital I needed to start my business came from my immediate family. They believed in my vision & backed me the whole way, I wouldn’t be where I am without their support. Other key factors that kept me in the game was ownership of the property which gave me a vested interest in its success for sure. The support from my staff (some of which are now a part of my core team), close friends & my day-one customers (you know who you are) was a blessing. Lastly would be my ability to create, even in the most trying times of my business (like a world pandemic).
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Opening a business (specifically retail) has been quite the learning experience. I’ve started businesses before that were service based, E-commerce focused, you name it but the process of opening a storefront is a different beast. Much respect to anyone who takes on that kind of responsibility.
My journey as a business owner has been pretty complex & I will try to compact it in just a few expressions for my own sanity:
I’m a black man who invested in one of the most historically racist cities in America. Being a business owner & resident in Stone Mountain Village felt like I was between a rock & a hard place but what that rock symbolize is slowly fading away mentally for me & hopefully for others too. The lack of vision & support then, the discrimination I experienced, the rumors from neighbors, being profiled by law enforcement & inspectors; All of these things played a role when I was fighting to open me establishment. Many customers hear of the trouble I faced when I finally opened but few know what it took to even get to that point. It took me 2 & 1/2 years. We’ve been open for 4 years since.
Little did I know that God would use that experience in Stn. Mtn. to prepare me for what I would experience with trying to open my 2nd location in Atlanta. I dropped the news of opening a but prematurely, not realizing home much of an impact COVID-19 would make. It was a huge reminder to me that some plans may not happen when I want. Coming on 2 years now and my business still isn’t open but I’m doing everything that I can to remain patient through the process. But honesty, It’s frustrating not being able to open though. The anticipation has faded, the excitement has chilled down, the expectations are faint. Some staff have come & gone unfortunately, but I’ve continued to grind!
Opening a business (specifically retail) has been quite the learning experience. Despite all of the difficulties, by the grace of God I’ve been able to recover quickly & plan to continue growing one of most ambitious & influential brands. Huge shoutout to my wife Shellane & family, my business partner/co-owner Nepthaly, Manager Ivan, our current team / previous employees and customers for encouraging, pushing & helping me reach the dream.
Contact Info:
- Website: gillybrewbar.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/gillybrewbar/
- Facebook: facebook.com/gillybrewbar
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/gilly-brewing-co
- Twitter: twitter.com/gillybrewbar
- Youtube: @gillybrewbar
- Yelp: @gillybrewbar
- Other: Brew Bar Concepts: gilly @ The Mayors House, Stn. Mtn. GA – tmhsmv.com gilly @ Peters Street Station, ATL (coming soon) – instagram.com/petersstreetstation Sister Bakery Concepts: Apple-Butter Bakery (re-locating) – applebutterbakery.com Woodstone Bakery & Cafe – Town of Trilith, Fayetteville GA – woodstone.square.site
Image Credits
1st Photo – Captured By, Gary Fortner @garylfortner Next 5 Photos (film) – Captured By, Co-owner Nephthaly Leonidas @nephthalyl